


watch&burn

by MythologicalHoe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Assassination Plot(s), Attempted Murder, Character Death, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kings & Queens, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Loss of Virginity, Magic, Murder, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Paganism, Plague, Poisoning, Problems, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Tags May Change, War, Witch Curses, Witches, validate me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-06 22:29:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15204830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythologicalHoe/pseuds/MythologicalHoe
Summary: Rey arrived in the Kingdom of The Republic after one of her friends is mortally wounded, trying to find help out of pure desperation. But when she dies and she's exiled from a group of Druids that she used to call home, she is forced to go back to the anti-magic capital and try and make her living there. She accidentally saves the life of the asshole prince, Kylo Ren and ends up being rewarded by being able to work as his servant.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I literally converted my og work bc a friend was told it "disrespects THE CRAFT"

_ In everyone, there is a monster waiting to be awakened.  _

Rey closed her eyes, breathing in as intensely as she could and feeling seafoam spray on her face as she rocked back and forth. The moon shone down on her, and after awhile she opened her eyes again. 

She watched as the waves crashed against the shore ten feet below her and wondered what it would be like if she just flung her body over the edge. She was ten years old, and a small wispy thing that no one would’ve seen, even when fully immersed in moonlight that night. 

Rey stared up at the moon. It’s semblance to a big, watchful eye, unnerved her as a small child. But still, she felt safest when she was under it. “Why did you curse me?” She asked the moon. 

The moon never answered, and it never would, but she would keep trying to get an answer from it. “Why did you give me magic? I don’t want it.” She said. The world around her was silent as she sat on the rocky edge of the small pier a few feet up from the sea. 

She almost didn’t notice the shift in the air and water as she sat. She didn’t notice the girl in the water that stared at her for a good five minutes before clearing her throat so Rey would look down at her. Rey didn’t scream, just looked down at the girl in wonder. “Who are you?” She asked the girl. 

“Who are you?” The girl said back. 

“I asked you first,” Rey sniffed, absent-mindedly fiddling with a rock in one hand. 

“Right,” The girl didn’t have any real features, she looked as if she was completely made out of water. Her voice reverberated in Rey’s mind as she spoke though. “I don’t think you would know me, child. But you can call me Ara, Goddess of the Seas in this area. I heard your pain.” Rey didn’t say anything, just sat there. “Unfortunately, I could not come to you in full form. At the moment, I am weak and I’m not sure when I will be able to get better. But I needed to make sure that I could do whatever was in my power to help you.” 

“Did you give me magic?” She asked. The girl of water shook her head no, and Rey’s face fell. 

“I know who did, though.” 

“Who?” 

“My sister.” 

“Who’s that?” Any normal god might’ve been offended with the fact that a child didn’t know their name, but not Ara. She knew what had been happening throughout the Kingdom for the last few months. The magical purge in the Kingdom was getting worse and worse as the day went on, and there was nothing she could do about it. 

“Her name is Shula, Goddess of Fire and Flesh, mother of Dragons.” Rey squirmed uncomfortably when she heard that name. “She’s not as scary as she sounds.” Ara assured her. “She quite cares about her kind, but you’re the only one left.” 

“Because of the purge?” 

“Because of the purge,” Ara confirmed. “But I just need you to know that the powers you have are not a curse. They’re a blessing. Not a lot of people get to have this gift. In time, you’ll learn to appreciate it.” 

“How can I appreciate it when everyone in my village is scared of me?” Her voice was nothing but a quiver, scared to say something that would anger the goddess. 

“This village is nothing but a place. It isn’t your home. You know that.” Rey pressed her lips together and looked behind her. The torchlight from the village shone bright, but not as bright as the moon above her. 

“I don’t want to stay here anymore,” She said. “I heard my mother talking about handing me over to the jailer here to be shipped off to the capitol.” Rey turned back to the goddess in one last desperate attempt to gain some information. “Do you know where I can go?” 

“There’s a camp, out west in the woods. It’s about a days walk.” She told the girl. “You can find some druids there, they’re nice people.” Rey got up, bowed, and then turned. The last thing she heard from the goddess was a succinct, “Good luck.” 

She ran back to the village, trying her best to stay hidden as she made her way to the woods on the other side. She remembered getting in and out of her house with a bag of food when she was stopped. “Where do you think you’re going?” It was the town elder. Rey cringed at the grating sound of the man’s voice. “I’m talking to you, girl.” Rey turned around, clutching the bag that she’d stolen from her mother’s house with one hand. She needed to be ready to book it. 

“I was just taking a walk, sir.” She said. “Nothing more.” 

“What do you have in that bag?” 

“Just a little snack.” 

“You know the curfew is midnight,” She took a step backwards. “You shouldn’t be out and about. There’s wolves.” She could feel all of the color drain from her face. She needed to leave. Rey remembered a strong pang of fear building with in her, it was strong and silent, it’s strength increasing in waves until something in the air popped. The town elder turned to see one of the wheelbarrows near his home catch on fire. 

Shouting and yelling broke out throughout the village, and Rey used that as her split second that she needed to escape. 


	2. Rey

There was something uninspiring about men who never changed their values. Rey learned that quick when she had gone to the capital of her Kingdom. The White Palace of The Republic was the one place that was known for innovative inventors, art, and a place for people to start anew, but that sentiment must have not been the same for the King. 

Rey looked up to the top of the balcony, where the fat King sat. There was a crowd gathering around the guillotine that had been set up in the Square, everyone seemingly hungry for the blood of the man that was waiting their to be executed. Rey wondered what the man before her had done to deserve such enthusiastic hate from the crowd around her, but she had an idea. That idea was confirmed when the King started speaking. 

“Six years ago, when the world was overrun with heretics and the perverted practitioners of magic, the Kingdom of The Order saw dark times, as did the neighboring kingdoms of Mandalore and Haelscant.” He declared. Rey had to prevent herself from rolling  her eyes. “In order to restore the proper status quo, to make sure that the people of our Kingdoms were protected, we began a purge that spanned all three Kingdoms, magic was declared illegal, and peace was restored to the Kingdom.” 

This man didn’t have magic. She could tell just by looking at him, he looked terrified that the people around him believed that he was in fact a wizard. There was nothing she could do for him though, nothing except bow her head when the blade of the guillotine came whistling down. She didn’t cheer when people cheered, she just glanced back up at the King and his cruel smirk. 

He enjoyed that. Rey shook her head, heading inside as the crowd dispersed and the King continued his diatribe, beginning to talk about celebrations that were to take place. Something about it was inappropriate to her, especially when a man had just lost his life. 

All she knew was that she had to keep her head down. She had a very different mission intended anyway. The cleric in her band of druids had been struck with a blade, making it important that she got the help of the Court Physician. Rey ran up the stairs, making sure that she wasn’t seen by anyone on the way up. She didn’t want to run into anyone and prolong her stay. She remembered her instructions, ‘Find the Court Physician, she is an ally to those of magic, she should be able to come and help.’ 

Rey started walking a little bit faster, remembering her years in the forest. She had to do this for the Druids, they gave her a home when she wasn’t wanted by anyone else. Rey found the Court Physician’s wing, entering from an entrance that wasn’t used very often. “Hello?” She called. The Physician’s wing was a large place, filled with numerous books and potions and elixirs. “Is anyone here?” 

A throat cleared itself and Rey nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see the Physician, an older, broad shouldered woman with a kind but stern face looking back at her. “Who are you?” The woman asked.

Rey stumbled to open her mouth for a second, before rolling up her sleeve, remembering the symbol that rested on her arm. The woman looked at her for a second, before Rey started talking. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but I need your help. Badly.” She knew that if she started talking, the other woman would have to listen before she rejected her. “The cleric, Frey, my friend. She’s been wounded by a sword and she needs a trained physician to tend to her wound.” 

“Haven’t you tried magic to fix it, girl?” 

“We’ve tried magic, we don’t have a strong enough healer to fix whatever’s wrong with her.” This grabbed her attention, but not for the better. 

“Then there’s a likely chance that your friend will die.” 

“Please,” Rey said. “Please, the elders will offer you any reward if you come and help.” She couldn’t go back empty handed. The old woman furrowed an eyebrow, skeptical of her. The older woman shook her head and Rey could feel her heart begin to sink. 

“I will help,” She said. “But I cannot leave today, I’m expected to be in court, and can’t risk not showing up.” 

“I need you to go today, she’s in bad shape.” 

“I told you what I can offer, unless you want to take the supplies to meet her.” Rey bit her lip, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to give her the proper treatment she needed, but she nodded anyway. 

“Thank you,” she said. The older woman nodded, grabbing an assortment of things that Rey didn’t know the name of to give to her. She tried her best to explain to Rey which ones were for pain and how to apply different salves onto the wound, and Rey listened, but she could say then and there that she wasn’t confident in what she would be able to do for the cleric. 

There was nothing else she could do though, so she took the supplies and descended down the steps of the palace, passing the citadel and going back to the woods. It took her a while on foot, but she was confident that she would be able to reach the cleric in time. The important thing was that she didn’t waste anymore time getting to her. 

The Druid hideout was masked by a particular scent of magic. It cascaded through the forest, warping the senses of those without magic and causing them to want to go the other direction. To people with magic, it had a pleasant vanilla and cinnamon like smell that had always pleased Rey when she was a child. 

Rey followed that scent until she found the small crevice that was invisible to the untrained eye that lead to the Druid’s hideout in the area, slipping through the area until she entered the Druid’s hideout. Frey laid there in the same spot that she had been in when Rey saw her last. “Are you okay?” Rey asked her. 

“I’m dying, what do you think?” Frey asked, Rey nodded and went to her side. “Where’s the physician?” 

“She couldn’t come. But she sent me with the supplies necessary to do this.” 

“Do you think that you can do this?” Frey asked. The answer was no. Rey knew for sure that there was no way that she would be able to do this successfully, but she had to try her best. She nodded, trying her best to reassure her that there was nothing wrong. 

“I just need to see the wound.” 

“Right,” Rey undid the dressing that she had previously done around Frey’s wound. It looked a lot worse than it had just hours ago. 

“Rey, I need to tell you something.” 

“Sh, it’s going to be okay. Just let me do my work.” Frey was the one person who’d tried to make Rey most at home after she escaped the village. The both of them had grown up together, trained together, worshipped together, they even shared their first kiss together. Rey furrowed her brow, trying not to think of that at the moment as she got to work. She tried to get the defeatist attitude that already plagued her mind out of her head but she couldn’t. 

She rebound the wound and Frey looked up at her, watching her work. When she was done she said, “I was going to tell you that whatever happens, it’s not your fault.” 

“Nothing’s going to happen.” 

“You don’t know that.” She didn’t. 

“You know what’s going to happen if I die.” She did. “I just want to say that I know that it wasn’t your fault. I don’t want you to think that it was your fault either.” 

“That’s sweet, Frey. But really. You’re going to be fine. You just need some rest.” Rey said. But she knew what was about to happen, and the feeling of dread that sunk into her stomach was awful. Rey sat next to Frey as she slept, as the day bled into the night and the night bled into the day. Rey watched as the roof of the cave became blood red as the sun shone into the mouth of the cave, and she looked back at Frey, knowing that she wouldn’t find any breath there if she checked. 

She tried anyway. 

Dead. 

Rey bit her lip, trying not to think about it. She would bury her and go back to the Elders. Tell them what happened. She could cry then. 

* * *

Kylo knew that some positions that the King had were cruel, unjust, maybe not. But definitely cruel. But as royalty, and as the next heir to the throne, he was supposed to respect his wishes. He just wished that he wasn't required to watch so many beheadings in the mean time. 

It was a thing that made him restless, trying to cope with the fact that the man who just died might have been innocent. There was no way to know if he was actually a practitioner of magic. 

"You okay, boy?" The King had asked after the execution. 

"Yes," Kylo said. He lied. Told him he would be there at the celebration and then went to his room to try and get some sleep. But that wouldn't happen. 


	3. tavern talk

Kylo Ren was always in one of two moods, annoyed or sad. Right now, he was definitely annoyed. Sometimes, the people within the palace tried his patience. He walked on the lower grounds, watching as they set up targets for knife throwing practice. “Ren, are you listening to me?” 

“No,” Kylo replied. There was a one hundred percent guarantee that if the General was anywhere near Kylo, he wasn’t going to listen to him. 

“This is important, your royal highness.” 

“Have you tried fixing whatever problem you have without me first? Because if not then you have another thing—”   

“There has been a Druid hideout discovered to the west, just a days out. In the woods.” Kylo stopped, turning to Hux. Once the man was satisfied that he finally caught the prince’s attention. “There are eight Druids there, what would you have us do with them?” 

“Kill them at the Druid hideout,” Kylo said. “Don’t make the King aware of their presence. He would have an example made of them, but having that many Druids in the Kingdom is a danger to the people.” Hux nodded, and turned, finally getting away from Kylo. He closed his eyes, relishing the few moments of silence that he would have before it was inevitably interrupted again.

He was surprised to find that he had a little bit of time to himself, in which he went about his usual practice, brutalising practice dummies and letting off steam. He went back in when he was starting to tire of his practice, intent on most of the people in the castle again. He didn’t want to have to deal with anyone right now. 

“You know, if you stopped wasting your time hacking apart straw dummies and actually participated in the political discussions going on you might be able to make a difference in what’s going on.” Kylo didn’t need to turn around to know who was talking to him. Jess, the King’s ward. 

“Thanks for your input, Jess. I’m really not in the mood right now though.” 

“I know,” She said. “You’re moping again.” Kylo shook his head as he undid his armor. “It’s really annoying.” 

“Right.” They had this exchange almost daily. Jessika would call Kylo annoying and he would agree with her, because it was true. He was annoying, and he always would be. 

“You’re upset. Why?” Jessika sat down next to him, but neither of them looked at each other. “Is it because of the execution?” 

“I think he was innocent.” 

“I know.” Jess said. “The King refuses to see reason, but that’s not your fault.” Kylo set his jaw. “You have to know that?” 

“I’m allowed to feel guilty for things I can’t control and want to wallow in my own self pity.” He said. Part of that sentence was sarcasm, but the both of them knew that he actually did that. 

“You should go to the tavern.” She said. “Have a drink.” The girl got up, getting ready to leave the training room. “You can talk to me when you’re being less annoying.” 

* * *

 

Getting a tattoo removed was one of the most painful things that Rey had done in a while. She had to get it done as soon as the Druids had learned that she let one of their own died. She’d been kicked out and left to defend herself in the woods, but that was fine. She didn’t care anymore. 

Rey had gone a while on hunting and finding things to eat, and that had been enough for her. But as the leaves changed from a bright green to a fiery red and orange, Rey knew that she would need to head inland and find a job. There was a matter of how far inland she should head though. For the next three kingdoms, people with magic were sentenced to death and treated cruelly, but it would take forever to get to the neighboring fourth Kingdom, and she wasn’t sure that she would be able to get that far before things began to freeze over. 

So, she decided the best thing to do was to go back to the Kingdom that she had been at before Frey died. She could at least stay there until the winter passed and then she would be able to be on her way again. 

Rey started her trek back to the Kingdom midday, passing through paths that were only familiar to the Druids. She got there by the end of the day and entered the third ring of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of the First Order was divided into three separate parts, each one divided by varying degrees of security. The First Ring, being the easiest one to get into. The agricultural part of the Kingdom spanned for miles and miles, the white ivory wall spanning for miles and miles. Rey spent the night behind a wagon that night, getting up when the sun rised and venturing to the second Ring. She was checked to make sure that she didn’t have any weapons on her, and once they were convinced that she was fine, they gave her a pass to the third Ring and let her on her way. 

The Kingdom of The First Order might have been impressive to her if someone else ran the Kingdom. There were all sorts of colorful buildings and stands, selling their wares to passerbys. Rey wished that she had something to pay with, so she could buy something. But she didn’t. 

So she made her way through the crowd, trying to do the best that she could to get to the Third Ring. She had one place in mind to go once she got there, one person that would owe her a favor after everything that happened. 

* * *

 

Within the Palace, there are many people that could reveal the fact that Rey had magic to the King. There were a number of people that could have her killed. But she needed a place to stay for the winter and she was willing to take the risk. 

She went back to the Court Physician’s wing and waited until she saw her. The older woman squinted and looked at her. Her eyes widened once she realised who she was. “You.” She said. “Back again, I see.” 

“I need a place to stay.” 

“So I’m taking it that the girl died.” Rey didn’t say anything, just bit the inside of her lip. Trying to remind herself that getting emotional wasn’t the best thing to do in this sort of situation. She nodded and the older woman sighed. “I guessed that was what was going to happen.” 

“I need a place to stay.” Rey repeated. “I can do whatever you want for work but I need something to do for the winter, someplace warm to stay. If you would please give me some generosity and let me stay here until the winter passes over, you would have my greatest attitude.”  _ After all, she was the reason that I lost my place with the Druids.  _ The older woman gave her a look. 

“I cannot do that. If I get caught with a magic user in my quarters, I will be killed.” Rey lifted up the sleeve of her shirt to show the woman the scar that was where the Druid symbol used to be. 

“The symbol is gone. I’ll be able to hide it. I’ve done it for a large portion of my life anyway.” There was a long silence between the two of them before the older woman sighed. 

“Fine.” She said. “You can stay. But if you get caught, I didn’t know that you had magic. You hear me?” 

“Yes,” Rey nodded. There was a sudden bubble of excitement. “Thank you so much Miss—” 

“Kanata. Maz Kanata.”

“Thank you Miss Kanata. I won’t make you regret it.” 

* * *

 

Kylo took Jess’ advice. He went down to the tavern to get a drink, or maybe five. Something to just let loose. He didn’t get much of a chance to do that anyway. Kylo liked to keep a low profile when he went to the tavern, the amount of stares he got when he brought the royal seal into the tavern was annoying. So he came in like any other customer and just ordered a tankard full of mead. 

He sat in the back of the tavern, just drinking and people watching as the day slowly turned grey and it began to rain. He looked outside the window, watching streets start to run with mud and was glad that he was inside. The lights flickered and the owners started bringing out the candles, knowing that things were about to go out. 

Kylo watched as a girl ran into the tavern. She was small and looked different from the rest of the people that came here. The girl had dark brown hair and while she might have been average height, she was certainly a lot smaller than the rest of the viking-esque patrons that came here. She ordered a cup of something, and when she got what she want, she looked around. All the seats were taken.

The girl looked lost in a sea of people but she didn’t look like she wanted to impose her will on anyone else. So as a sign of kindness, Kylo moved over in his seat on a bench a little to give her room. She walked really fast to the back of the room and sat down, but didn’t look at him. “Thank you.” She said. 

“No problem,” He looked down into his mead, and then up at the girl. She looked cold. “Are you okay?” He normally wouldn’t care about some random sopping wet girl in the middle of the rain but he was a little drunk and had nothing better to do. 

“Yeah,” She said. “I just needed a drink. Been traveling awhile.” 

“Really?” He asked. “Travel a lot.” 

“Yes,” She took a sip of her drink, still not looking at him. “I guess I’m a bit of a nomad.” 

“How long will you be in the Kingdom?” 

“For the winter, I think.”

“Right, where are you from?”

“Jakku,” She said. 

“You mean that old village that got destroyed?”

“I guess that's how I started being a nomad.” 

“I guess. Hopefully you'll like here more than Jakku.”

“I do. King’s a little scary but I do.” He nodded and a comfortable silence settled between the two of them. Kylo kind of liked it. Finally, she got up and nodded at him as the rain let up. The both of them split ways, and Kylo found himself wishing that he had asked the girl what her name was. 

There was something about the comfort that rested between the both of them that he had never felt before. It was something new—Kylo shook his head and got up to head back to the castle. Maybe he was going insane. The mixture of drink and loneliness was making his head go weird, he just knew it. 

Kylo went back to the palace that day and slept his drunkenness away, in the morning feeling inexplicably numb. It would be the same routine today, the King would find something to rant about and Kylo would pretend to care.

He tried to forget the girl in the tavern. That small bit of pleasantness that he had in his grasp would be gone. Kylo got dressed and got up to walk out the door. He didn’t think he’d see that same girl standing there with a basket in her hand. “Maz has instructed me that you were to be delivered pain medicine.” She took a vial out of her basket and handed it to Kylo, blinking as if she nearly didn’t recognize who he was. She smiled at him but that quickly changed when he didn't reciprocate.

Kylo took the medicine from her and shut the door on her without a word. 


End file.
